How to Respond to Insurance Adjuster Calls Without Self-Sabotaging Your Car Accident Case
After your Florida car accident, don’t be surprised if you get bombarded with phone calls from various insurance companies and their adjusters. As soon as the accident is reported to an insurance company, the company’s adjusters are going to be calling around to everyone who was involved in that accident.
In other words, as soon as the other driver’s insurance company finds out about the accident you were involved in, they are going to be making their rounds of phone calls to everyone who was involved in or at the scene of the accident… and that includes you. You should also expect that your insurance company will additionally be reaching out to the other drivers and witnesses involved to gather their own facts.
The way you handle these calls will likely have a very serious impact on your car accident case. That being said, you must know what to expect and be prepared to answer the questions without putting yourself in a tight spot later on down the road.
What to Expect from Insurance Adjusters after a Car Accident
After a car accident and an insurance company has become aware of the situation, they will start their quest to gather facts on what exactly happened. Regardless of if you have a personal injury attorney by your side to guide you, you will be expected to answer questions regarding the accident. This point of the claim process is where the insurance companies gather all their information to better paint the story of what exactly happened at your accident. Everybody is trying to gather information here.
Unfortunately, they are not always trying to get the facts that favor you. Often times we find that insurance companies are trying to limit their exposure to the accident by spinning a set of facts a certain way. Or, they may be building the case for their insured, another party in the accident, to help support their clients version of the facts.
Insurance companies, although they provide great aid to us, are still for-profit companies. They are looking to get out of any lawsuit with the most amount of money in their pockets as they can.
It is nefarious to believe that it always works this way, but we have seen this happen too many times where insurance companies have taken advantage of victims of an accident when they are confused, not thinking straight, or don’t have all of their affairs in order. Don’t let this be you.
What I hope you take away from this article is to remember to always be aware when talking to adjusters and make certain that you are looking out for yourself and your case (or potential case if you have not contacted an attorney yet). An attorney is a great resource to have at this stage of the situation and will quickly be able to navigate through those tricky situations, recorded statements, and other requests that the insurance companies might make so that you can leave this car accident case with a favorable outcome to get you back on your feet again.
Common Insurance Adjuster Questions After a Car Accident
Common questions that your Insurance Adjuster may ask include:
- Do you understand that this interview is being recorded?
- Is it being recorded with your permission?
- What is the year/make/model of the vehicle that you were driving at the time of the accident?
- Are you the registered owner of the vehicle?
- Was a police report taken?
- Was a ticket or citation issued?
- Was the vehicle towed?
- Were you using the vehicle for any type of business or government use?
- What was the date of the accident?
- What time did the accident occur?
- Where did the accident occur?
- In what direction were you heading?
- How did the accident occur?
- Was the weather a contributing factor?
- Were there other vehicles involved?
- Was the traffic moderate or heavy?
- Did the airbag deploy?
- Were you wearing your seatbelt?
- What did you see, hear, and observe?
- What types of damages were done to the vehicle?
- Was anyone hurt?
- Was anyone treated by the paramedic or taken to a medical facility for treatment?
- If so, who treated them and where were they taken?
- Were there any witnesses to the accident? If so, what are their names and contact information?
- Did the police come to the scene? If so, which agency? Do you have the officer’s name and badge number?
- Does the vehicle need repairs? If so, which repair shop?
- Do you have bills, receipts, or any other paperwork related to the accident?
If you are in a situation where you need immediate legal help, please do not wait and give me a call right away at 727-580-2064 or call the office at 727-888-3925. I am happy to help in any way that I can and if I can’t, I will make sure to point you in the direction of someone who can.
All the best,
